“Beautifully written … extremely powerful and important book.”
John Maytham reviews Elton Baatjies by Lester Walbrugh:
Listen to the full review here: Book Review with John Maytham
JRB: Read an excerpt from Lester Walbrugh’s debut novel and an interview with Joy Watson
The latest issue of the Johannesburg Review of Books features an excerpt from Lester Walbrugh’s debut novel Elton Baatjies and an interview with Joy Watson.
15 – 17 September: Karavan Press authors at Blown Away by Books
THURSDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 14.00 – 15.00 So you want to write? How to start – how to continue: three writers give insight into their writing journeys and the genres they have explored Lester Walbrugh – Elton Baatjies & Let It Fall Where It Will Shameez Patel – The Last Feather Penny Haw – The Wilderness Between Us Moderator: SarahBelle Selig FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 9.30 – 11.30 Writing workshop with Cathy Park Kelly and Máire Fisher (Library Hall) 14.00 – 15.00 What we know and what we learn – about ourselves, our families, our history Sara-Jayne Makwala King – Mad Bad Love Erika Bornman – Mission of Malice Cathy Park Kelly – Boiling a Frog Slowly Moderator: Karina Szczurek 16.00 – 17.00 The stories we choose to tell – memoir, biography and the fictions between Colleen Higgs – My Mother My Madness Nancy Richards – The Skipper’s Daughter Hedi Lampert – The Trouble With My Aunt Moderator: Cathy Park Kelly SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 16.00 – 17.00 Personal, social, political – stories that create the fabric of our country Sindiwe Magona – Theatre Road In Our Own Words: Nurses on the Front Line Nick Dall and Matthew Blackman – Spoilt Ballots Moderator: Tracey Farren
For the full programme, click here:
BLOWN AWAY BY BOOKS
ELTON BAATJIES by Lester Walbrugh to be launched at Liberty Books
We are delighted to invite you to the launch of Lester Walbrugh‘s eagerly awaited debut novel, Elton Baatjies. Equally delighted that it is going to take place at Liberty Books in Elgin – Lester will be in conversation with Christy Weyer.
Thank you to Paul Cluver Wines for sponsoring the wine for this special occasion!
We can’t wait to share this hauntingly dark, absolutely stunning novel with Readers.
Karavan Press title: Elton Baatjies by Lester Walbrugh
In this anonymity they are able to be themselves, shadows and all, even if only for a few minutes in the day.
The Cape Peninsula carries secrets known only to the wind, the fynbos, and the creatures that live there. Six teenage boys are found raped, murdered, and dumped down the side of its mountains.
It is two years since the discovery of the first body and Detective Junaid Japtha is no closer to cracking the case. With pressure mounting, and without any tangible evidence, he can only rely on his experience and instinct to track down the killer.
Fifteen-year-old Tyrone May from Macassar spends his days in limbo. He has no one to talk to. No one listens. He is curious and confused about his feelings. Like most boys, he has yet to develop a sense of his own mortality. It allows for a daring that will dissipate as he grows older, but, for now, Tyrone will accept the friend request a handsome stranger sends him.
Elton Baatjies is the newly appointed teacher at a local high school. These are his people, and he is soon embraced by the close-knit community. But he is tied to the six dead boys in ways no one could have predicted, and the secrets among them threaten to tear the sleepy mountain town apart.
Publication date: September 2022
ISBN: 978-1-7764064-7-0
LESTER WALBRUGH is the author of the short story collection, Let It Fall Where It Will (Karavan Press, 2020). Elton Baatjies is his first novel. He lives in Grabouw.
Karavan Press at Open Book Festival, 2-4 September
JOY WATSON
- Date: 2 September 2022
- Venue: HCC: Homecoming Centre, Star Theatre
- Time: 14.00 – 15.00
- Price: R50
Dianne Du Toit Albertze, Fred Khumalo and Joy Watson speak to Bettina Wyngaard about migrating to survive.
- Date: 3 September 2022
- Venue: HCC: Homecoming Center, Star Theatre
- Time: 12.00 – 13.00
- Price: R50
Sean Davison (assisted suicide), Joy Watson (GBV) and Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon (urban housing) speak to Bronwyn Pithey about using the courts as tools for transforming our society.
- Date: 3 September 2022
- Venue: HCC Homecoming Center, Star Theatre
- Time: 16.00 – 17.00
- Price: R50
Pulane Mlilo Mpondo, Yewande Omotoso and Margie Orford unpick mother-daughter relationships in the company of Joy Watson.
LESTER WALBRUGH
- Date: 4 September 2022
- Venue: HCC: Homecoming Center, Star Theatre
- Time: 12.00 – 13.00
- Price: R50
Dianne Du Toit Albertze, Chase Rhys and Lester Walbrugh discuss the politics of being seen with Haji Mohamed Dawjee.
To see the full programme, click here:
OPEN BOOK FESTIVAL 2022
Let It Fall Where It Will by Lester Walbrugh shortlisted at the HSS Awards in the Best Fiction Short-Stories subcategory
Congratulations to Lester – we are so proud! – all the other shortlisted authors, and the winner of the subcategory: Nthikeng Mohlele!
Congratulations also to the winner of the Best Fiction Edited Volume subcategory: Hauntings edited by Niq Mhlongo. The anthology includes short stories by Lester Walbrugh and Joanne Hichens!
People’s Stories & Books: Nancy Richards interviews Lester Walbrugh
Listen to this wonderful interview and get to know Lester Walbrugh, the author of Let It Fall Where It Will, as he talks to Nancy Richards about growing up in Grabouw, expectations, travels, writing, language, his upcoming novel and buses:
People’s Stories & Books: Lester Walbrugh
Lester Walbrugh stars in 2 THIRDS OF A MAN
2 THIRDS OF A MAN explores the coming-of-age story of Justin, a talented but guarded teenager returning to Cape Town to navigate unique challenges as a first-year student at Rocklands University.
Look closely and you will see a familiar name among the cast/crew members: Lester Walbrugh, the author of Let It Fall Where It Will. Lester is one of the producers and stars in the film.
Watch the official trailer: 2 THIRDS OF A MAN
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